Friday List: Best Buddies

By
Liz Kelly

Batman without Robin, Thelma without Louise, Paris without Nicole -- imagining one without the other is unthinkable. The fabric of the universe would unravel if, say, Laverne turned up at the Shotz brewery minus Shirley or Lenny busted through their basement apartment door without hetero lifemate Squiggy.

The criteria: "No sidekicks allowed! Buddies must be on an equal footing; so long Sancho Panza, Robin, and DJ Jazzy Jeff. Romance is completely off the table, so off went Mulder and Scully, Lyra and Will, Fred and Ginger, and Ennis and Jack. And finally, the buddies must stand alone, not as part of some larger group of near-equal importance; adios to the Friends, the Honeymooners, the Flintstones, John and Paul, and Mick and Keef."

Pete and Berg-Two guys and a girl
Maverick and Goose-Top Gun
Dante Hicks and Randal Graves-Clerks
Jay and Silent Bob (I know they are associated with other larger groups but for the most part they act on their own)

(I'd go with Lassie and Timmy, but alas whereas Lassie most certainly gets into the Comet Club, Timmy is likely relegated to the Sidekick Lounge - along with the other 'sixteen year old orphans with backgrounds in the circus, a thirst for adventure, and full, pouting red lips.')

Green Lantern/Green Arrow were the number one team during the late sixties and early seventies. Without them, the concept of 'relevance' in comics would not have been possible. In that vein, I suppose I should add Neal Adams and Dick Giordano, the writers/artists of the short-lived and influential run......

For the tag team with the greatest impact on American culture - one really need look no further than Smith and Wesson. Without that duo - Dre and Tupac would be asking 'would you like fries with that?'

J.D. and Turk from Scrubs for sure. I mean come on, they gave the world "Guy Love," which is basically the anthem for all of these pairings!

And I also second Jake and Ellwood. My world really did implode when I learned they tried make a new pairing with John Goodman. It wasn't even close to the same.

How about Simon and Garfunkel? I know they broke up and hate each other and that Simon went on to have a pretty decent solo career, but still. Neither of them alone or with other people will ever beat out Simon and Garfunkel.

I don't have anything to add--but I did find it amusing that Lyra and Will (I assume from the whole His Dark Materials Trilogy) were on the not allowed list---(if you've read the books you know what i mean)

I don't have anything to add--but I did find it amusing that Lyra and Will (I assume from the whole His Dark Materials Trilogy) were on the not allowed list---(if you've read the books you know what i mean)